De Rossi on what would ‘frighten’ him about Roma losing Dybala

Daniele De Rossi explains what he changes in the second half of Roma’s draw with Cagliari and insists there is only one situation where he’d be ‘frightened’ of losing Paulo Dybala.

The Giallorossi opened their Serie A season with a goalless stalemate at the Unipol Domus in Sardinia, where both sides rattled the frame of the goal and tested the ‘keepers.

“We did better in the second half. We struggled a little before that to go on the counter, the pitch was dry, so I asked us not to keep the ball to feet too much. We were organised, but much better after the break, both teams had chances and I saw more,” De Rossi told DAZN.

Matias Soulé also seemed sharper and more aggressive in the second half, ready to take men on and run to the by-line.

“We ask him to attack opponents, he always seems to be in the game. He’s very young, so he still gets a few things wrong, but is very positive, has a lot of quality and we were looking for someone like him who could attack with pace and quality.”

Did De Rossi give Roma players the ‘hairdryer treatment’ during the break to shake them up or was it a tactical tweak?

“The defensive movements were better, we need to work more on getting into the final third. When you are too deep and move it around sideways, you risk getting into a mess. I asked the team to be more vertical, we forced Cagliari back and did better.”

De Rossi on Dybala situation at Roma

It was also notable that the performance lit up after Dybala came off the bench at the 69^th minute, immediately winning free kicks and providing a great cross for Artem Dovbyk’s header off the bar.

He was initially left out amid negotiations for a move to the Saudi Pro League, so De Rossi was asked if he is ‘frightened’ by the idea of a Roma side without La Joya.

“I already talked about this enough and don’t need to say more. We will talk about the transfer market on September 1. If Paulo were to leave, or someone else, we would need a replacement. I would only be frightened if someone left and was not replaced with a suitable player, otherwise no.”

Last season’s LaLiga top scorer Dovbyk made his competitive debut for the Giallorossi and hit the crossbar with a header on Dybala’s cross.

“The first half was not easy for him, as we didn’t give him much service. I think he did really well after the break, he fought hard, almost scored and I am sure he will score many goals.”